Roscosmos to get $12B, but most will fund missile production, not space – Defense Express

Defense Express writes about this. 

According to a new report by the UK’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Roscosmos is deeply tied to Russia’s military-industrial complex and plays a key role in producing weapons like Iskander missiles and ICBMs such as Yars and Bulava.

Despite its name, Roscosmos has long been involved in missile production, the report states. The agency is the successor of the Soviet Ministry of General Engineering, which built both rockets and intercontinental missiles.

The report highlights that Roscosmos often serves as a front to mask military spending under the guise of civilian space programs. Roscosmos appears as a civilian agency to the West, allowing the Kremlin to funnel money into weapons development, RUSI notes.

This dual role is also reflected in its leadership: both former heads of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin and Yuri Borisov, were previously deputy prime ministers overseeing the defense industry.

As evidence, RUSI cites that in 2024, Roscosmos funded a bureau that develops ICBMs and, in 2023, invested $1 billion in the Yaroslavl Radio Plant, which supplies the Russian Defense Ministry with military satellites.

In short, while the agency carries the label of a space program, its main mission seems rooted firmly in supporting Russia’s war machine.